The Salone Internazionale del Mobile, or Milan furniture fair, is part trade show, part celebration, and part crystal ball, offering a preview of bold new designs that will begin turning up in stores and showrooms in the months ahead. There are many furniture fairs in Europe, but there is no arguing with Milan's status—attracting more than 300,000 visitors every year, the Salone is Europe's most important design fair, and the place where a majority of top furniture manufacturers and designers come to unveil thousands of their latest creations. For a few days every April, design takes over not only Milan's sprawling fairgrounds, but nearly every city street with special exhibitions and installations.